Before You
by Safe.Place.To.Read
Summary: A day on the Hastings front porch brings out the sappy/romantic side of Spencer and Toby. "Je t'aime," Spencer said suddenly. "Je t'aime plus," he seemed to catch on, and together they smiled. {A 116 parallel fic for Ana aka alivingfantasy!}


**hi :)  
so i know it's been FOREVER since i've been on here and i just really want to apologize for that. i've been dealing with a lot of stuff buuuuut i won't bore you with the details of my life. in the words of Spencer Hastings, "it's not that interesting."  
but this is, in a way, a parallel to 116. you should recognize some similarities but it wil by no means be the same. it takes place sometime after 407 but before the midseason finale, if that makes sense? idk. i'll leave it up to your imagination ;)  
anywayssss this is for Ana, my lovely, beautiful, partner in crime. happy (very very belated) birthday! love you to the moon and back and i'm sending thousands and thousands of hugs your way. hope you enjoy babygirl xoxo  
****also i wanna thank my bb tracey aka phoenix9648 for helping me a with this story and proofreading it the first time around even though i like totally changed everything because i suck, but she was truly such a huge help with this. *round of applause*  
okay! enjoy you guys! don't forget to review and so sorry for the novel of an authors note ;) love you allll xo  
**

**- . -  
**

The steady beat of Toby's heart had lulled Spencer to sleep, but the ticking of the mahogany clock across the room was what, unfortunately, woke her up the next morning. Her father was out-of-town, naturally, and her mother had spent the last few nights away for the Ashley Marin case at a hotel about two hours away, near Muncy. Toby of course knew this, so he jumped at the chance of inviting his girlfriend to stay the night straight away. Studying, cuddling, playing board games... It was refreshing for them, really. Like a little vacation from the nightmare that is their lives.

But the time was now 5:37 a.m. and the sun was just about up, much like Spencer herself. She hated more than anything that she had to wake so early, on a Saturday especially. Normally early rising was her thing, but waking up in Toby Cavanaugh's embrace was like a spell, and spending the rest of the day in his arms was all she truly wanted to do.

Spencer sighed.

Hanna needed her. Soon. They would be heading to the courthouse for the trial in an hour and that left no time for dilly-dallying.

Looking down at the sleeping beauty beside her, she breathed in the scent of his cologne one last time.

"I love you, Toby," she whispered softly in his ear before pressing a gentle kiss on his temple. "So much."

And with that, without waking Toby, Spencer reluctantly pried herself out of the bed and began her morning routine.

First, she changed out of Toby's blue-gray v-neck and dressed herself in the nicest dress she had been able to find in her closet the previous day. It was a tight-fitted black dress with long sleeves and a lace insert along the neck line. Toby had gone mad when she'd modeled it for him the night before.

Next she fancied up her hair and applied her makeup. There wasn't much to do, actually. But Spencer needed to make sure she was ready for the occasion and the girls had planned on arriving twenty minutes early, just in case. She would have to be leaving soon.

Finally, Spencer put on her heels and waltzed into the living room, where the scrabble board lay still. Sliding a few pieces over to her, she put them each in a spot on the board, leaving a little message for her boyfriend to hopefully see.

_GOOD MORNING HANDSOME  
-S  
_

Then, sighing deeply, Spencer walked towards the door, turned the knob, and began her day. Although if she had it her way and things weren't so messed up, it would've been spent in the arms of the owner of the loft she just stepped out of. He also happened to be the owner of another thing as well: her heart.

**- . -  
**

A knocking at the front door startled Spencer slightly as she jumped up from her spot on the living room couch. In all truth, she had been doing nothing but staring into space, an attempt to clear her mind of the days events. She had gotten home nearly ten minutes ago, which was enough time to swap her dress for sweats, drink some water, and plop down on the sofa.

She started toward the door, curious as to who could be on her porch.

Turning the knob and opening the door, Spencer was met with hypnotizing baby blues, ones she had come to know oh so well.

"Hi," Toby gushed. "I found this was in the loft I was baking these..." He pulled out the Catalog of Top Ranking Academic Universities, the book Spencer's mother had given her weeks before, along with a paper plate covered in aluminum foil. "Peanut butter mocha chip. I know how much you love them."

"Toby!" Spencer squealed as she engulfed him in a grateful hug. They really were her favorite kind of cookie. "Thank you!"

He grinned, awestruck. Her smile was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and it never ceased to brighten the already luminous stars in his eyes. It was like there were a thousand spaceships zooming around inside his stomach too. She made him crazy.

"Sooooo," Spencer began, "I've missed you..."

Chuckling at her, Toby agreed. He couldn't help it. "I've missed you too. I wish you didn't have to duck out this morning..."

"Me too," she sighed. "Hey, do you actually wanna continue this outside? I've been stuck inside a humid courthouse with no windows all day and I just...don't feel like being inside anymore."

"Sure," Toby nodded and Spencer joined him outside, shutting the door behind her.

They were now sitting on the front step of the Hastings porch, Spencer's head resting in the nook of boyfriend's shoulder. "So how was the trial?"

"Okay, I guess," Spencer replied. "As okay as the murder trial of my best friend's mother can be. The whole thing is warped and Hanna's just a mess, but..." She sighed. "Enough about that, though."

"Okay," he whispered. "Let's talk about college. The future."

This caused Spencer to lift her head. "Really?"

"Really. So," Toby began as he opened to the first page of the Catalog of Top Ranking Academic Universities, "There's NYU...The College of New Jersey...or if you wanted to go abroad, there's University of Paris...?" His oceanic blue gems lit up at the last one.

"Paris..." Spencer repeated. "The city of love... I like the sound of that. But I'm only applying if you promise to go with me. If I get in, that is."

"Of course I'd go with you," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Life without you is too hard to even think about."

"So wherever I go, you're definitely coming with, right?"

Nodding, Toby smiled. "Definitely."

"Je t'aime," Spencer said suddenly.

"Je t'aime plus," he seemed to catch on, and together they smiled.

"We'd do pretty good in a french speaking country, you know."

"You especially; you're completely fluent!" Toby exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah." Spencer was blushing. "But you're not so bad yourself."

"I only had the best tutor within _miles _to teach me what I know," he half-joked.

A beat passed and they were still smiling, but their minds wandering elsewhere. "Spencer," Toby's tone was more gentle now. No longer was it teasing and light, but somber and sincere. "Thank you," he breathed. "For tutoring me that one day, and for giving me a chance. I love you so much, and that day...that you showed up on my doorstep...was the first day of the rest of my life. You taught me how to live and to love, and I never really thanked you for that."

Spencer just looked at him, hypnotized. Leaning in slowly, she pressed her lips against his for a soft, lingering kiss. Words were never really needed when it came to them. They could just touch and know exactly what the other was thinking, feeling.

But after a while Spencer whispered, "I never told you this either, but you taught me quite a few things as well."

"Oh?"

"Mhmm," she replied. "You taught me how to feel, to hope, to forgive. You taught me what love really was and that if it's real, it will stand against all odds. Before you I'd never known any of those things. I'd only known what my cynical parents had told me and that," she sighed, "was all a load of lies. Before you I hadn't known that it was even _possible_ to love something more than coffee."

At this they couldn't help but laugh.

"Before you...I thought I knew everything, but as it turned out, I knew nothing at all. You proved me wrong about everything and that was something nobody had yet to do either. So, Toby, I love you too. More than anything in this entire world."

Toby shook his head, grinning from ear-to-ear. "Spencer Hastings," he began as he laced his fingers in with hers, "When did I become so lucky?"

"The same day I did, Toby Cavanaugh. The same day I did."


End file.
